A Question

[Atherosclerosis]

Atheists:

An honest question here, which deserves an honest answer—why are so many (not all) atheists obsessed with convincing theists that God doesn’t exist?

Note: this is not meant to be hostile or insulting to any atheists. It is simply meant as an honest question.

[McCulloch]

I appreciate your honest inquiry. Firstly, I seek to know the truth about these things. There are those who claim that what I believe about God is false. If I want to have confidence in my belief then it behooves me to investigate the claims of those who disagree with me.

Apart from that, it matters very little to me whether people I don't know believe in God, gods, fairies, gnomes, angels, Satan and the like, so long as they agree with the rest of us on our common values: human rights, self-determination, free speech and scientific inquiry. However, when their belief in a God causes them to go against these values, then I feel compelled to argue against their position.

I hope that this helps.

[Atherosclerosis]

I appreciate your honest inquiry. Firstly, I seek to know the truth about these things. There are those who claim that what I believe about God is false. If I want to have confidence in my belief then it behooves me to investigate the claims of those who disagree with me.

Apart from that, it matters very little to me whether people I don't know believe in God, gods, fairies, gnomes, angels, Satan and the like, so long as they agree with the rest of us on our common values: human rights, self-determination, free speech and scientific inquiry. However, when their belief in a God causes them to go against these values, then I feel compelled to argue against their position.

I hope that this helps.

Thanks for your answer! I am a Christian, but I do try to respect the beliefs of others... always failing doing so, but trying nonetheless...

[Tiberius47]

Atheists:

An honest question here, which deserves an honest answer—why are so many (not all) atheists obsessed with convincing theists that God doesn’t exist?

Note: this is not meant to be hostile or insulting to any atheists. It is simply meant as an honest question.

Not all theists.

Just the ones who seem to be cocky and arrogant and convinced that they;re right and try to preach their religious views as fact to all other people.

[Richard81]

I like people to hear the other side of everything. Some people never hear the other side, and so I tell them what I think so they can make a choice about what they want to believe, opposed to constantly hearing the religious side, making religion their best choice. That is one reason, I also enjoy debating with religious people, even though I know they won't listen to me.

[playhavock]

Atheists:

An honest question here, which deserves an honest answer—why are so many (not all) atheists obsessed with convincing theists that God doesn’t exist?

Note: this is not meant to be hostile or insulting to any atheists. It is simply meant as an honest question.

Well, I call myself a skeptic, but I think I can answer the question - at least , why I do this.

I am not obessed - first and formost. But my duty is to the truth.

I love logic. Once I started to learn it, I wanted to learn all of it.

I was a christan for 28 years, and when I went to learn about apolgitics, and reserched - I found evedance agenst much of the bible and found flaws in the philopical augments for God's existance, I found no reaion to think there was a God and sertently one that cared anything about me. It was a hard process to give up on faith, but I am glad I did so in the end, because now I can view reality.

One thing I saw as a huge issue that helped turn me off of christanity was how meny christans fly in the face of science, they outright denyed evoultion with no real scientific reasion - they promoted misunderstanding of science, and insults towards athests. I found this immoral and wrong. I found that people were agenst homosexuality for no reasion other then relgous - they hide behind relgion to justify there predjce of people. This is not right.

Politics aside, although it does worry me whenever a leader mentions God or prayer as a thing to do or something imporant - the basis of why I try to convince people that they are wrong is - because they ARE wrong. When one thinks that (X) is true and (X) has no bases in reality - then we must do what we can to show them why this is the case.

Think of the group in new york that actualy, really belives the earth is flat. Would you want that taught in the class room? Would you want people that belive in flat earth running our country? Would you not be worryed about them - want them to belive in fact rather then fiction?

Perhaps you would not, meny people say that belifes of others do not matter to them, but they matter very much to me, I care about people, I want people to want fact, not fiction. I want people to ask critical questions and analise things and use real logic and not deny what sceince discovers about our universe, our world, and us - there are real issues to deal with here, and folding your hands to pray does not help solve them, use those hands to do something.

For me, I can only hope to make some small impact upon the brains of those who read my words, to make them question what they value most, to shine light into dark places.

[Furrowed Brow]

Atheists:

An honest question here, which deserves an honest answer—why are so many (not all) atheists obsessed with convincing theists that God doesn’t exist?

Is that what you see. I'd say it is more the true to say that atheists put a lot of energy into trying to show the theists how problematic their arguments are. If religious folk are going to dedicated their lives to a belief system and encourage others to do likewise they should at least have their mettle tested. To be honest I think the first reason we debate is that the religious solution is just found wanting. We argue because we think you guys are just getting things badly muddled.

We are also reacting to the turning away from doubt and criticism. Criticism is good, lack of criticism bad. It is not just that some of us think that the major claims of Christianity are patently false, but to go ahead and promote ideas like resurrection and miracles invites an intellectual stance that diminishes us all.

Then at times we just plain disagree with the ethics on offer.

Then there is the problem of social rigidity and moral conformity. It is not just that the content of the theology is found wrong or wanting but that the social structures that ensue. if religion is left unchecked without the bulwark of secularism the result is inevitably the suppression and targeting of minorities and folk who do not believe or do not fit into the accepted dogma. It was the arrival of the enlightenment and the spread of secularism that defanged religion. This process is still ongoing. If you think this point is wrong then answer truthfully this: if your church suddenly achieved political hegemony in your country to the point they could pass any law they wished how long before a blasphemy law is imposed, and criticisms of the church and its decision outlawed. How long before even minor infringements receive serious sanctions. How long before homosexuality is made illegal, and sex outside of marriage punishable. Even if your church is presently liberal how long before unfettered power leads to a lurch towards conservatism and then an ultra conservatism. In short how long before things start looking like a theocracy from the middle ages or the middle East. I am pretty sure we are just talking a matter of decades before the inquisition starts if there is no opposition to religion taking power. And at heart for any organisation that thinks it has "the truth" taking power is the logical end game. Religion is made safe when there is healthy and robust criticism. So debate is good, lack of debate bad, and forthe good of us all religion needs to be held in check.

To sum all that up I think some of us debate because deep down we feel that there is something deeply wrong with faith.

[Nickman]

Atheists:

An honest question here, which deserves an honest answer—why are so many (not all) atheists obsessed with convincing theists that God doesn’t exist?

Note: this is not meant to be hostile or insulting to any atheists. It is simply meant as an honest question.

I dont think we are obsessed with the issue any more than theists on this forum. I think the difference is that, in my daily life outside of this forum, I don't really ever talk about atheism or have very many conversations with theists about the subject.

I come here to learn and strengthen my knowledge. If I am not gonna believe in something I need to have a good reason not to. I cannot just dismiss gods because I don't want to believe. I infact wanted so bad for gods to be real at one time in my life.

I think there is an equal amount of proponents on both sides trying to make their point about god or no god. To say that atheists are obsessed makes me think of how one sided your mentality may be. You don't seem to see the multitudes of Christians on here and in everyday life knocking down peoples door to share with them about their god. Atheists don't do that, we have too much sinning to do before we go to hell.

[ThatGirlAgain]

Atheists:

An honest question here, which deserves an honest answer—why are so many (not all) atheists obsessed with convincing theists that God doesn’t exist?

Note: this is not meant to be hostile or insulting to any atheists. It is simply meant as an honest question.

One factor is the ongoing efforts by the more extreme elements of religion to replace certain elements of science in the classroom with religious teachings.

Another factor is one of Dawkins' soapboxes, that religion leads to things like terrorism.

Personally, I like a good debate on the existence of God and topics like that but I do not see this as the answer to the world's problems. High voltgage attacks on the beliefs of others tends to both strengthen and radicalize certain elements who hold those beliefs. The result is even more extremism like throwing out science or the greater extreme of killing people.

[Alueshen]

Atheists:

An honest question here, which deserves an honest answer—why are so many (not all) atheists obsessed with convincing theists that God doesn’t exist?

Note: this is not meant to be hostile or insulting to any atheists. It is simply meant as an honest question.

My motivation for debate surrounds the fact that beliefs inform our actions. That is, you and I take action based on what we believe.

If you believe in the Judao-Christian god and the bible, there are a lot of potential situations where your actions cause harm to the country and culture that we live in.

Of course this in my belief and that belief informs me that I should dissent from the commonly held belief that there is a god who cares about me, what I eat, when where and how I have sex and what I think.

I accept that many people are physiologically incapable if introspection and will stubbornly hold onto their false beliefs because self-evaluation and the realization that we held a belief or an idea that was wrong hurts us. This causes people to attempt to make the world conform to their view of it instead of us conforming to the reality that is our world.

Knowing this, I know the people that I'm most likely to influence are those that haven't formed a deeply held belief and are still pliable, or those that through their own will have begun to question their faith and have begun to see it for what it is.